Monday Autism News Potpourri
Published February 09, 2009 @ 09:41AM PT
Last week's odds, ends, nearly gems, and updates on important actions--
1. S-CHIP was signed into law on Wednesday February 4! Many of you wrote to your congress folks about SCHIP this past month, and took action right here in this space. Whoot! Not only did S-CHIP pass, but the event was attended by 6 national disability advocacy organizations--including the Autistic Self Advocacy Network. Something about us with us! Double-whoot! A video of the signing is available.
2. NEW ACTION: Our work on the stimulus package is still not over yet. The senate is looking to cut out a lot of the disability-related funding that was passed in the house. If you live in the U.S., please take a moment to tell Washington to Support a Disability Friendly Stimulus.
3. Because I love art and painting, and maybe some of you do too, Christian Parrotta does not need words to communicate his vision. This article nicely let Christian's talent be his talent, no "despite" or "overcoming." I quite enjoyed both Christian's art and the entire tone of the article itself.
4. Kristina has written about synaestesia a few times, and I must confess synaestesia is also a favorite topic of mine (I have sound as image/sensation primarily, and less strongly letters, numbers, weekdays, and months as color/shape/textures). New Scientist reports a new genetics study which claims to have found some of the regions in the genome responsible for sound as image synaestesia, and they are in some of the same regions that have been linked to autism and dyslexia. This research has also shown that synaestesia is passable from fathers to sons (previously it was thought to be passed with the X chromosome). I've not read the actual study so take the science reporting with a bit of salt.
5. Monster ad update!!! Reports are that the ad has been withdrawn early. WHOOT! I've also gotten some reports that the print ads will no longer be appearing. I want to give this a few days before I say we should raise a full-on cheer, but it's looking good! Thanks everyone who has and is helping with this!
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Comments (6)
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Dora is committed to improving quality of life for individuals on the autistic spectrum--including herself! She is Co-director of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education and a member of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Board of Directors.
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Neet, but I read somewhere that synesthesia is more common with females...
Interesting...
I love my synesthesia. It makes music very tasty and have great textures and smells and I "see" colours in it based on keys and associate abstract concepts with scents and tastes that don't really exist.
Posted by Shondolyn (Synesthesia) Gibson on 02/09/2009 @ 10:16AM PT
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I had read the same thing as you--I think that's part of why synaestesia was thought to be transmitted on the X chromosome. I have a sister and she has synaestesia too. I also love my synaestesia!
Posted by Dora Raymaker on 02/09/2009 @ 10:25AM PT
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It's so awesome and fun, but the other day I was describing a wrist pain as being "high pitched"
I don't think the Dr. got that though.
I think I have female relatives that have it, like my mother and cousin. I will have to bug them about it.
Posted by Shondolyn (Synesthesia) Gibson on 02/09/2009 @ 10:45AM PT
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LOL I slip up a lot like that too--Saying things like, "I don't like that music, it is too corduroy!" has often made people who don't experience syn. think I'm kind of crazy!
Posted by Dora Raymaker on 02/09/2009 @ 10:56AM PT
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Yeah, I get all sort of sick when I see pink and orange together and complain to people about how ugly they look because they just feel all jarring on those yeeky pasley bags. It's weird to be so colour sensitive.
Posted by Shondolyn (Synesthesia) Gibson on 02/10/2009 @ 09:33AM PT
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A lot of my food pickiness is synesthesia based. My overlap is colour for smell/taste (very, very rarely also for sensation or feeling), and I only tend to like foods that are colours I like. All seafood is orange-y to me, and I can't stand orange; the beach also has orange notes that make it quite unpleasant.
I don't know if anyone I'm related to also has it; I would expect my dad, actually, given that he's passed along a number of genetic, neutral conditions to me (both my brother and I inherited hypermobility from him and got a diagnosis only when we injured ourselves; I have to think his gayness and my bisexuality are also related). Then again, I've heard my mom mention things tasting like they're red (usually in reference to something like koolaid)...I'll have to ask!
Ten dollars says she tells me this is another pretend internet diagnosis I've come up with, even though I've known about it for years--and thought everyone perceived taste the same way until I was in my late teens!
Posted by Ali ... on 02/10/2009 @ 03:53AM PT
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